1827 | Ìýis appointed as °×С½ãÂÛ̳'s first Professor of Natural Philosophy and Astronomy. |
1925 | The Wilson 24" reflector is offered to the University of London |
1928 | Observatory building commenced July. L.N.G. Filon appointed Honorary Director (1928-1937); C.C.L. Gregory appointed Wilson Observer (1928-1950) |
1929 | 'University of London Observatory', ULO, opened by Sir Frank Dyson (Oct 8) |
1930 | H.R. Fry donates his 1862, 8" Cooke refractor to the Observatory (January), together with funds for a dome to house it (erected 1931). |
1934 | The Radcliffe twin 24"/18" telescope is offered to the Observatory, and accepted 1935 |
1937 | Radcliffe building commenced. |
1938 | Building completed June, opened July 1 by Sir Harold Spencer Jones; C.C.L. Gregory appointed first Director (1938-1950) |
1939–1945 | Radcliffe decommissioned during WWII |
1940 | Mr Fred Perren visits the Observatory, July 20 |
1943 | Perren dies, leaving the bulk of his estate to the University of London for the furtherance of astronomy |
1946 | Radcliffe recommissioned. The Joynson telescope (1863 6" Cooke refractor) is moved from the °×С½ãÂÛ̳ courtyard to Mill Hill, after suffering wartime damage. It is used for daytime training & laboratory experiments. |
1948 | E.M. Peachey-Burbidge appointed Assistant Director (1948–1951) |
1951 | Management of ULO passes to °×С½ãÂÛ̳ (Aug 1), although the name is unchanged, and administration of the Perren Fund remains with the University of London. The °×С½ãÂÛ̳ Dept. of Astronomy is created, with C.W. Allen as the first Perren Professor and second Director of the Observatory (1951–1972). |
1952 | P.A. Sweet appointed Assistant Director (1952–1959) |
1959 | R.H. Garstang appointed Assistant Director (1959–1966) |
1965 | Observatory Annexe (Dawes Lane) acquired |
1966 | D. McNally appointed Assistant Director (1966–1986) |
1972 | Robert Wilson (Professor Sir Robert Wilson, CBE, FRS) appointed Perren Professor & third Director of ULO. Departments of Astronomy and of Physics merge. Astrophysics research activities start to migrate from ULO to Bloomsbury. |
1974 | Original Wilson telescope is decommissioned (now on loan to Merseyside Museums), and replaced by the Allen, a new 24" reflector by Ealing Beck. |
1975 | Allen Telescope formally opened May 22 by D.W.N. Stibbs A spectrograph for the Allen is designed & built by M.M. Dworetsky. |
1981 | Fry Telescope decommissioned for repair & refurbishment, temporarily replaced by the Joynson. |
1986 | Robert Wilson becomes Head of Department of Physics & Astronomy (1986–1994), appoints Derek McNally to the ULO Directorship (1986–1997, separating the Directorship from the Perren Chair). |
1991 | New computerised control system installed for the Allen telescope; first use of a CCD camera at ULO, on the Allen spectrograph. |
1994 | David Williams appointed Perren Professor (1994–2002). First CCD camera on the Radcliffe; its electronic control system is also commissioned (developed by Peter Thomas with support from Chris Clarke) |
1996 | M.M. Dworetsky appointed Acting Director, ULO (Oct 1) |
1997 | Mike Dworetsky appointed fifth Director, ULO (Oct 1; 1997–2008). Fry telescope refurbishment completed. |
1999 | Observatory Annexe sold as planetary-sciences research activities migrate to Bloomsbury, where John Guest moves to the Dept. of Geological Sciences (1999 Aug 1). |
2000 | Building works completed under the direction of Dr Peter Thomas provides a new structure on the Observatory's southern perimeter to house three telescopes (including the restored Fry refractor and a Celestron C14), refurbished and expanded classroom areas, and much-needed office and workshop space. |
2004 | Ofer Lahav assumes the Perren Chair (February). |
2006 | C14 telescope installed in the 'west dome' |
2008 | Ian Howarth appointed sixth Director (Oct 1). For the first time, all Physics students attend ULO. |
2009 | Bandwidth to Bloomsbury upgraded from 2 to 10Mb/s. Second C14 telescope obtained (for 'east dome') |
2010 | July 21, acquisition of the first astronomical images obtained by remote operations (student Jakub Bochinski, with supervisor Steve Fossey on site). |
2012 | Routine robotic observing comes on-line. Second-year astro students return to Mill Hill for practicals after a lengthy absence (term 2). |
2013 | Bandwidth upgrade to 1Gb/s. Affiliation to the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers (Jan 24). First fibre-fedÌýastronomical spectrumtaken (of Venus, with a Shelyak spectrograph and fibre coupling by Nic Clarke; Jul 11) |
2015 | Formal request to University of London to approve name change to °×С½ãÂÛ̳ Observatory (reflecting actual practice for more than half a century). Approved by the Board of Trustees of the University of London on 2015 Oct 14. |
2015 | Giorgio Savini appointed seventh Director (Oct 1). |